Second Chances: the other half of the story
by Ebony Mitsu
Summary: main summary inside. the second part of my post-war one-shot Second Chances, and it doesn't matter what order you read them. 3x4 with a hint of 1x2 this time. Can Trowa and Quatre regain that which they lost through anger? ppl wanted this so i wrote it.


**Hey guys! I know I said I was leaving this as a one-shot, but I changed my mind and some people obviously wanted the other side of the story, me included ;) Also, I've managed to work out their ages (roughly, Trowa is still a mystery, as always, he might be younger or older nobody will ever know) but if I'm right then by the end of Endless Waltz they're in their late 20s, which puts them in their 30s here. I don't think so. So yeah, they are in their early 20s for the purpose of my twin tales.**

**But I mean it, this is the end of this story. I'm not writing any more of Second Chances after this, so it's your imagination that decides whether the boys make it in the big wide world.**

**By the way, for all who want to know, Codename: Eclipse will be removed within the week for some much-needed revamping. I fully intend to bring it back under the same name, but there will be differences to the story – though admittedly I didn't get far before lol.**

**Ok, enough chatter from me, let's got on with this circus show!**

* * *

Quatre stepped out of the limousine that Relena had hired to bring both himself and Duo to the party. Duo stepped out on the opposite side a moment later, looking up at the manor and then sending Quatre a cheerful smile over the roof of the vehicle.

The blonde young man returned it softly. For some reason, he felt that tonight would be a night of miracles.

It was five years since the war had finally ended. Three since four of the Gundam pilots had seen each other. Wufei acted as a go-between, sharing news of the other pair with whichever two he happened to be visiting. Quatre and Duo, the two who had been hurt, had stayed together mostly to help each other through their heartache. Heero and Trowa had stayed together to help each other through what became a very trying few years for them.

Duo straightened the jacket of his all-black attire and then fixed his white tie as he wandered over to Quatre. The limousine sped away again.

"You ready for this buddy?" Duo's voice had deepened slightly over the years. He'd turned 24 a little over a week ago. Quatre wouldn't turn 24 until December, with Wufei. On the same day even.

Slowly Quatre turned his gaze from the manor to his best friend and offered his best smile. "Of course. Wouldn't want to keep the girls waiting now."

The comment made Duo laugh. Both he and Quatre had received the invitations on the morning of Duo's birthday, which didn't give them a lot of time to prepare, as Quatre had told him then. Duo's befuddlement – why would it take two weeks to get ready for a party? - had quickly turned to slight horror when he walked back into the house one day after work only to be pulled into the living room and up onto a stool for a tailor to prod at.

"Then shall we?" Duo mock-bowed and held out an arm. Quatre laughed, well used to his antics after so many years of war and safe-houses as well as the past three years of living with him in California State.

"Of course my friend."

Together they walked through the open doors and into the ballroom, depositing their coats along the way. Duo whistled in appreciation as he gazed up at the domed glass ceiling. "Wow, being a Vice Foreign Minister looks to bring in a lot of cash."

Glancing around while Duo appreciated the architecture, Quatre spotted Dorothy and Catherine nearby and walked over to them. The American followed when she stopped staring at the ceiling and saw that his friend was on the move.

"Miss Catherine, Miss Dorothy, how are you both this evening?" Quatre asked. The two women giggled.

"Forever the gentleman, eh Quatre?" Catherine smiled. "We're fine. How're you?"

"Same old same old." Duo waved the question off. "Work, dinner, sleep, lazy days, it passes the same in the end."

"I wasn't talking to you Duo." Catherine teased. They all laughed when Duo feigned hurt at her words.

Relena walked over to them and greeted a dignitary as she passed. "Hello Quatre, Duo, enjoying the party?"

Duo mock-bowed again and Quatre inclined his head. "Of course, Miss Relena," the blonde replied for both of them, "Thank you for inviting us."

Relena nodded, smiled and waved at some more people walking past her, and then turned to them. "I need to ask you a favour." she explained.

Duo took a step back; he knew that glint in her eye and it never meant good for him. Quatre raised an eyebrow and then, much to Duo's utter dismay and horror, responded thus; "Of course, Miss Relena, how may we be of help?"

The brunet groaned and placed an arm across his chest to support the arm of the hand he now placed on his temple, as though he suffered with a headache. "Q-man, you'll _never_ learn."

"What did I say?" He stared at Duo, wide-eyed, confused and naïve to what he had just done.

The smirk on Relena's face grew wider. "Thank you Quatre, I knew you'd help me." ignoring the quiet gagging noise coming from Duo she continued to smile unnervingly at the two men.

Dorothy and Catherine both giggled. "Oh, are you in for it now boys." Catherine grinned at them.

_'Mary mother of God, she's just like the tigers at the circus!'_ Duo thought, now thoroughly scared for his life. Taking out an enemy base, no problem. Assassinating the leader of a powerful enemy organisation, piece of cake, but dealing with _Relena_ . . . . . .

_Hell no!_

"Eh?" Quatre had never sounded so _not_ eloquent.

With a sigh, Duo enlightened him. "Quatre, never agree to something until you know what it is!" he shook his head, hands on hips. "Man, it's Relena, she asks a favour you run, end of story. You don't agree!"

"I resent that, Duo Maxwell." Relena said, half-frowning. Then the frown turned upside down and she smiled again. "Come on, follow me." with a smile and a wave she pushed through the crowds.

Quatre and Trowa found themselves being pushed and pulled by Dorothy and Catherine.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret this?" Quatre asked nervously.

Duo made a weird little noise. "_Now_ ya get it!"

After a few minutes of pushing towards the back of the room Relena had stopped before a corner and appeared to be talking to someone they couldn't see.

"Sal, why the heck are you blocking my sight?" Duo groaned in frustration.

"Don't worry Duo," Sally poked out a tongue. Duo could see Wufei standing a little ways off. Noticing the American pilot's stare the Chinaman held up both hands in a gesture of surrender, clearly saying _I have nothing to do with this and you're on your own_.

"Ok boys," Noin began, snapping her fingers to get their attention, she continued only when Duo had stopped trying to push Sally and Catherine out of the way, "If you could have one thing, one thing in the whole wide world, what would it be?"

Duo actually piped down to think about that one, but when it came down to it he wanted the same thing Quatre did. He wanted things the way they had been once upon a time, when he hadn't been angry. He just wouldn't admit it to anyone.

The girls saw this anyway and they all nodded. Sally looked behind her to Relena, and when she saw the world's Princess nod at the two she was speaking to, then turn to give her the same signal, she signalled the others.

"We want you to meet someone for us, boys." explained Sally.

"What?"

"You promised already, idiot." said Noin firmly.

"I didn't, _he_ did." Duo pointed firmly to Quatre, realising the girls had made a solid wall around them already. He was trapped.

"Please?"

"It'll only take a minute," Catherine coaxed, already laying a hand on Quatre's arm, "And they're really good friends of ours."

"I don't care if they're _royalty_ I'm not meeting more of your nutsoid friends." and then Duo added in a lower but still loud voice, "Crazy Girls."

"Don't we get a say in this?" asked Quatre softly. He didn't want this as much as Duo, but they were right, he had promised. No doubt Duo would be at him for this one for weeks.

Noin only laughed and grabbed the blonde's wrist with Catherine, while Hilde and Sally grabbed Duo's wrists. "Of course you don't." she said lightly, as they began to pull the two reluctant pilots forward. "If we let you guys decide then this would never happen."

The strange words soon deciphered themselves when Quatre found himself staring directly up at shocked dark emerald eyes. Duo had gone very still and very tense beside him, and the blonde was certain that his already pale skin had just gone ashen grey.

Both Trowa and Heero were older and taller, though only Trowa was taller than Duo, and was so by a good couple of inches. Both wore black suits, Trowa with a light green shirt and Heero with a white one. Both wore black ties and looked more than a little shocked to see him and Duo.

_'Feeling's mutual.'_ he thought dazedly.

Relena fidgeted, glancing from one unmoving form to another. Finally, tearing himself from his shocked staring, he turned and stood straight, glaring at her.

"Why did you bring us here?" he asked angrily. Quatre's mouth was moving silently, trying to form words.

She gasped; this was not the reaction she had hoped for. "Well . . . it's been so long since the group was together and we missed you all and not being able to see you all at the same time, and we thought it a shame that you guys wouldn't talk any more so . . . we . . . thought . . ." she wilted under the intense glare.

"That you would interfere." Quatre finished for her, keeping his tone gentle. He was aware that Trowa Looked at him even if he wasn't looking directly at the taller man. Duo made an aggressive noise and Quatre made to cut him off before he began. "Relena, you should have realised that this isn't a good idea."

"And why not?" to his surprise, and everyone else's too, she stamped her foot with her demand. "You used to be so close and now you won't even look at each other! Don't you realise what this is doing to the rest of us?"

"How about you stop thinking of yourself for two minutes and think about what this is doing to us." said Duo. Quatre gasped at the tone he used; he hadn't heard Duo speak like that since the war, and even then only rarely. "You think you can fix everything, princess, but you're wrong. Dead wrong."

"You can't talk to me like _that_!" Relena was wide-eyed with shock. The girls shifted uncomfortably; this wasn't how things were supposed to go. Quatre also was starting to get a little uncomfortable with all the staring.

"I'll talk to you how I damned well like seeing as how you're interfering with my life!"

"Duo, please, calm down." Quatre tried to lay a hand on Duo's shoulder but the man shrugged it off angrily.

"Why the hell should I?" he hissed. "She needs to hear this! She needs to understand that the world isn't perfect and she can't help everybody!"

"I think we'll be taking this outside."

Quatre realised Heero was the one who had spoken when the man moved forward and took Duo roughly by the arm, leading the taller man roughly outside.

It left the group inside of being in the awkward position of being the centre of everyone's attention.

"Umm . . ." Quatre floundered for a minute. Relena looked thoroughly depressed, the girls looked horrified, Trowa looked as awkward as he felt but the man was also watching him quietly.

"It's ok Quatre, you can go if you want to." Relena whispered.

Quatre took one look at her and decided that enough was enough.

"Come on." he said, unusually rough, and he grabbed Trowa's hand and pulled him onto the terrace outside the way Heero and Duo had gone. Trowa seemed surprised but allowed himself to be pulled along. Quatre's blue-green eyes were firm and determined.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Quatre let go of Trowa and leant back against a low wall with arms crossed over his chest, the shouting between Duo and Heero now faded into a low murmur at the other end of the manor's garden. And, more importantly, Quatre couldn't feel their conflicted emotions any longer.

"Well, she wanted us to talk, so let's talk." Quatre looked Trowa straight in the eye, unflinching.

"I'm sorry." was the quiet whisper that answered him. "I know it doesn't make up for anything I said or did, but I'm sorry."

"Well you're right there, it doesn't." Quatre said firmly. Trowa hung his head and the blonde's gaze softened. He knew how sorry Trowa was, he could feel it. It made feeling angry at the silent man even harder than it already was.

"I suppose you won't forgive me?" Trowa had been hoping he could patch things up, and seeing the blonde for the first time in three years tonight, shocked, angry but still shocked into silence, had given him some light at the end of a long and treacherously dark tunnel. But now that light had disappeared around an unseen corner.

Quatre looked at him for several silent and tense minutes. Just as the taller man turned to leave he hung his head and whispered. "No, you are wrong about that."

Trowa stopped and turned back, hardly daring to believe what he thought he had heard. "What?"

"What you said, back then, were words of a heated argument. You meant them to hurt me, and they did." Quatre was looking back the way Heero and Duo were, his eyes unfocused on anything in the here and now. "But I also know that you regret ever saying them, and that you wish you could take them back." He flashed Trowa another look, but this one was softer than the fierceness of before. "I feel that if I don't give you a second chance, then I shall regret it for the rest of my life, because to lose you forever, just because of some stupid words we said to each other in the heat of the moment, that would be the real mistake."

Trowa didn't dare move. _'If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.' _he'd hoped and prayed that he'd hear those words from his love's own lips, but he had never dared believe he would get them. He still didn't. Until, that is, Quatre stood and smiled at him, sad but a smile nonetheless.

"Trowa?" he looked up at his name and Quatre was the one now who looked hopeful. "I'd like to start again, please. I'd like," he gulped. "I'd like to come home."

Trowa's face transformed from shock to tender love. He moved forwards and embraced the blonde that had been absent from his life for far too long. "Of course, love." he whispered. "You only ever had to ask."

Quatre smiled into Trowa's shoulder; thing's were finally as he felt they should be.

As they headed back inside he glanced towards the maze where Duo and Heero had been arguing. The sight that greeted him now was not a hostile battle scene as he had worriedly thought it might be, nor a scene of tragic sorrow. The two were merely standing in the moonlight, wrapped in each others' arms and content to stay that way.

Quatre smiled and waved slightly. Duo, facing that direction, saw them first and smiled and winked in return. Heero saw when he felt his lover's movement, and nodded and smiled in congratulations and thanks.

Second chances were hard to come by, but Quatre figured they'd all get on fine, this time.


End file.
